in some ways the property devastation was worse than hurricanes katrina and rita combined. in some ways. in new york state alone sandy destroyed more than 300,000 homes. that's a lot of homes that have to be rebuilt. and as cnn's national correspondent deborah feyerick discovered, it means a lot of homeowners are looking for answers. >> reporter: when superstorm sandy hit, peggy thought she was ready. she paid decades worth of insurance premiums to be covered for catastrophe. so this is the letter basically denying -- >> i went to the office and this is what they gave me. >> reporter: she says her claim was denied. her deluxe homeowners policy covered hurricane and wind, not floods. >> she said you're not entitled to anything. you don't have flood insurance. >> reporter: down the block, tom sullivan was having a similar problem with a different insurance company. >> the water was coming out of the tubs, out of the toilet. >> reporter: after initially being told he would get $10,000 for sewer backup, he was then told no because his damage was caused by the storm surge. when